Firefly
by Ameyoke
Summary: TITLE CHANGED. Yuffie swears to Vincent that she'll be with him forever. Getting to live that long is the first challenge. What else? What if Erika, their daughter, turned out to become Jenovah's spawn as the God's revenge? How will their family survive?
1. Prologue

-Prologue-

Yuffie and Vincent had just finished the final battle at Fort Condor. The condor was now gone, but the fortress remained. Cid, Yuffie and Vincent had been on a mission together to find the Huge Materia. The leaders gave them a chance to rest downstairs after their big battle.

"All right, get some sleep you guys! We'll get up tomorrow." Cid grinned, his white teeth showing. And so the party went to bed.

"Ugh…!" A groan sounded through the room. Yuffie heard this. It shocked through her like a shot of ice through her spine. Her eyes lifted and she jumped up from her bed, only her belly shirt and some loose pajama pants on. She saw Vincent, tumbling in his sleep. He looked like he was in so much pain. She walked towards him and leaned over his bed.

"Hey… Vincent…? You OK…?" She reached her slender hand towards him. "Ah…!" It seemed as if time had froze. Vincent had grabbed her arm and pulled her into bed with him. He held the 16-year old girl close to his chest. "Ah…!" She remained speechless, her cheeks turned a rouge blush.

"…Yuffie." He said sleepily. "Don't go…"

"You're… You're just sleeping right…?" She tried to softly laugh it off, but she realized… He was having painful dreams. Dreams where he wanted Yuffie- Not Lucretia- to save him. "Oh no…" She whispered, feeling his heartbeat; The heartbeat that confirmed that he was human. "I think… I've fallen in love with Vincent." Her stomach clamped, and her heart kept beating faster and faster.


	2. Chapter 1

"Vincent!" Yuffie waved her hand to her friend as he arrived at the little bar in Costa de Sol.

"What made you choose this place?" He asked her as he sat down. "We could have gone to Seventh Heaven. It's closer."

"Well, yeah, but…" She scratched her head and then fwipped it towards the bartender. "Barkeep! One Sol Splash for me!"

"I'm sorry, you're underage." The older man said as he wiped the used mugs.

"No I'm not! I'm already nineteen for crying out loud!" She retorted, and both men looked at her with exasperated looks.

"…The drinking law in Costa de Sol- And everywhere in the world- IS 21." The man said what Vincent hesitated to.

"Whaaaa? No way! Darn it…" She sunk her head. Vincent stared at her for a second, then looked back to the bartender.

"One special for me." He said, refusing to say the stupid name for the drink.

"All right." He went to the back and started to make it.

"Vincent, that's too cruel! Getting a drink when I can't!"

"Keep it down. I'm giving it to you anyway, so don't throw a fit." He looked slightly embarrassed as he looked away from her eye contact. Yuffie smiled at this warmly.

"Here you are, two Sol Splashes." The barkeep put one in front on each of them.

"Wait, but-"

"You've got to treat your girlfriend right, sir. Aiming for an indirect kiss on the glass she drank out of isn't gentlemanly." He chuckled.

"Like I'd do that."

"W-We're not dating! Seriously!" She blushed and sipped at her drink.

"So? What did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, right." She swifted her hair back from her face. "I'm, um… Getting married." A long minute of silence went through the two.

"…Congratulations."

"It's an arranged marriage by my father. It's my childhood friend, Sai Jun."

"I see. I hope you'll be happy."

"…Yeah. Thanks." She said quietly. Vincent turned his head to her as he heard a drop of something fall into her drink. Tears were dripping down her face like a waterfall. "I'll see you later. I have the next boat out. I'll miss it if I don't hurry." She pushed the correct amount of gil on the counter and smiled goodbye.

"…You really don't get women, do you?" The barkeep shook his head.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Tears may be a woman's sword, but smiles are a woman's shield."

"…"

"If you really don't get what I'm talking about, why not talk to one of your friends?" Just as the barkeep said that, Vincent's cellphone rang with the ringtone that Yuffie had chosen when she forced him to get one.

"Hello?" He "greeted" dully into the receiver.

"It's me, Shelke. Do you think you could spare some time?"

"I heard about Yuffie's engagement." Shelke, Shalua's little sister, walked around the grassy plains by a waterfall where they had decided to meet.

"I congratulated her."

"You broke your promise." She looked at him sharply. "When we had talked earlier, you said that you would tell her your feelings."

"…You sure I didn't mean Lucretia?"

"I know you didn't mean her. You're always playing around with Yuffie, and you laughed for the first time with her. I know that Lucretia isn't the one you love anymore." She stood firm in her place. "Yuffie is." The wind blew as silence fell.

"…I guess so… That little firefly… Really outdid herself." Vincent admitted as he remembered her bright, happy face.

"Vincent!" Her voice called inside of him.

"You can't let it end like this. Yuffie's waiting for you. Yuffie loves you too, and you were too dense to notice. She's been waiting for you all this time. She was waiting for you to love Lucretia, and even if you didn't love her back that was fine. She wanted you to be happy." Shelke looked at him. "Isn't it time you paid her back?"

Vincent quickly turned around and walked off. Although he seemed calm, there was no way he was going to let it end like this.

At Yuffie's home, Yuffie was dressed in her Chinese formal dress, sitting on the floor. Across from her was her betrothed, a boy she had known since she was small. His name was Sai Jun.

"It's good to see you again, Yuffie-sama." He smiled softly. He was a gentle sort of person, who always smiled kindly. He had a little past shoulder-length blonde hair that he wore up in an oriental tie. She looked down at the ground.

"I'm sorry, I-" She stopped.

"I know that you love someone else, but I think if we are married we will slowly learn to love each other." He closed his eyes, still smiling. "As for me, I love you."

"Sai Jun…" She said in surprise. But then she imagined their wedding night. His blonde hair out of it's tie, his firm chest above her as they made love. But no matter how many times she tried to appeal to this situation, she couldn't. In her mind, she always imagined his blonde hair turn to long black hair, dripping over her breast bone. She couldn't do it.

"I-" She was cut off by the sound of the door slamming open. She looked up, and there was the man she had her fantasies about… Vincent Valentine. "Vincent…?" Silently, he tromped over to where she was sitting, completely ignoring Sai Jun, and leaned over, picking up her hand, lifting her up from the floor. She was dragged behind him as he began to leave. "Vincent! Wait, what-!"

"Are you going to be able to take care of her?" Sai Jun asked without a smile on his face, but instead a firm stare. Vincent said not a word as he glared back with his usual face. They exchanged glances for half a minute, when Sai Jun closed his eyes and smiled. "I see. Please do." And so, Vincent held Yuffie by the hand out to the fountain garden.

"Vincent, what are you doing?" She demanded.

"I've come to take you back."

"Wha-? I have a marriage interview to go to!"

"Do you want to go back?"

"What?"

"Do you want to marry that man. He'll live with you as long as you do. I, on the other hand, will watch you grow old and die as I live forever." He told her coldly as she looked up at him. "Even then, will you stay with me?"

"Yes!" She said quickly, without a moment to think. "I don't care about your lifespan or mine! You're really important to me!"

"Do you love me?" He asked, and her face turned slightly red.

"I really do love you! I may be just a kid to you, but I have a lot more going on in my mind than money and material things, OK?" She hugged him. "Your heart beats… Just the same as mine. They might not last the same amount of time. But listen… I'll find a way to live together forever. I'll even get my body experimented on, if that's what it takes. So please…" She looked at him. "Let me stay with you.

"You love me that much…? You fool…" He grabbed onto her and hugged her once again.

"Vincent…" Yuffie's eyes filled with tears. He released her for a moment to look at her. She gazed up at him with innocent, doe eyes, waiting for what was going to happen.

"…I love you." He said in his deep voice, his lips nearly touching each other. Vincent pulled her to his chest, placing his face close to hers, her cheek on his shoulder.


	3. Chapter 2

"So… You wish to marry my daughter." Godo, Yuffie's father sat across from them.

"Yes."

"But they say you will live forever…"

"Dad, I'll find a way, OK?" Yuffie insisted. "So please?"

"Not until that way is found." Godo scorned Vincent with cruel eyes.

"So… You've come to Shinra?" Reno listened to their story.

"Trust me, we don't wanna be here either." Yuffie shook her head. "But we need some way so that we'll age together and die together."

"Hm…" Dr. Grahme, the specialist at Shinra laboratories nodded his head. "Well, I think-"

Ring ring. Reno's cellphone rang in his pocket. He shuffled through his black coat and flipped open his phone.

"Yeah, Elena?" He leaned back in his chair and pulled out his keys. Silence occurred as his phone call went on. "Yeah, I know I'm late. I'll there in a sex. Whoops, did I say that? I meant sec." Yuffie heard a loud, embarrassed yell over the phone as he flipped it shut. "Sorry guys, I gotta dash."

"Mission?" Vincent asked quietly.

"Well, something like that… Elena's been at Junon headquarters for a while, so we haven't had time to see each other. Special mission: Operation date night." He snickered.

"I thought she had a thing for Tseng." Yuffie whispered to Vincent.

"And I care?" Vincent blew it off.

"Well, after I played the moves right, we went in bed and talked over our differences." He stuck out his tongue as he left, teeth showing.

"Ewww! Gross!" Yuffie yelled at him.

"You're getting married girlie! Get used to it!" He waved as he closed the door behind him.

"…As I was saying…" Dr. Grahme cleared his throat. "There is a procedure I can do. Will you come with me?"

"Ugh…" Yuffie woke up after the medical procedure. She woke up next to Vincent, who also lay on the operating table.

"Ah, good morning."

"Dude, what the crap?" Yuffie remembered what had happened. As soon as they got in the room, Yuffie knocked out for no reason.

"This room is filled with life stream controlling energy. It's no wonder you two lost consciousness." He sipped on coffee.

"That doesn't give you the right to-!"

"Vincent agreed to the procedure. After all, it doesn't affect you."

"What?" She sat up and looked down at her fiancée.

"All I did was use our technology to connect your life threads together."

"Life threads?"

"Yes… Life threads. You have seen images of the Lifestream, yes? Then you've seen the fibers inside of it. They connect each person to the Lifestream. When someone dies, their thread is cut and returns to the Lifestream. So, there was a study years ago about connecting two people's Lifestream threads in order to make them live the same amount. However, even if Vincent dies before you due to unforeseeable circumstances, you will live." He explained. "Although we did this before the wedding ceremony, think of it as your wedding vow."

"Wait, so Vincent will die when I do?"

"That's right. He'll age normally now, and die of old age with you." Yuffie looked down at him and smiled.

"I know that I'm shortening your life, but… I'm happy…! You can be a normal human now…!" She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

"Stop crying… You're getting your nose all red." Vincent groaned as he woke up. She hugged him tight and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Oh, and Mr. Valentine… There was a letter left with the research notes. It was addressed to you. After all, Dr. Lucretia discovered this method."

"Lucretia?" He exclaimed, and a dagger stabbed through Yuffie's heart. Even beyond the grave, Lucretia still held Vincent's heart. This scared Yuffie.

Dear Vincent,

It's me, Lucretia. How are you? I know that having an experimented body must not be great but…

I have found a method to save you. Not from your alteration, but to make you happy. One day, Vincent, I knew you would find your true love. If you are reading this, after all, you did. Now you can live a normal human life. To tell the truth, I'm a little sad… But I want you to be happy. Who's the girl? Introduce me to her.

Vincent, I loved you. I know that I was a fool. But even though you've suffered so much from my mistakes, please… Be happy.

-Lucretia

"Yuffie." Vincent told his fiancée outside of the hospital. "I have somewhere I need to go. Will you come with me?"

The crystals on the walls of the dark cavern made a slight light to see the water in front of them as they stood together, hand-in-hand at the lake's shore. In the center of the cave was a woman in a crystal. Dressed in a white gown, she slept peacefully inside her prison.

"Lucretia." Vincent started. "I got your letter. I had the procedure." He looked down into the reflection of the lake. "I had it with her. This girl's Yuffie. She's kinda dumb, selfish, loud and sneaky…"

"Hey!" Yuffie interjected at his description of his fiancée.

"But… She's a wonderful woman. She's spunky and like a firefly. She truly cares for others, and over all, she loves me." Vincent gripped tightly onto her hand, and she hugged against him, holding his arm snuggly against her face. "And so… I'm saying goodbye, Lucretia. I loved you, I really did. But… Now, I love Yuffie. Even more than I did you." His light wispy black hair drifted into his face. "Lucretia. I'm OK now. Rest." He placed a flower in the water, and it reached the middle, slowly sinking to the bottom. When the two looked back up, only a slight glow was left where her body had been. She was gone. She had moved on.

"Was this OK?" Yuffie tightened her hand. He nodded and looked at her silently. Brushing her bangs off of her forehead, he placed his lips on it softly.

"Let's go." And so, Yuffie walked beside him, quiet. She knew there was nothing else to say or argue. Lucretia had finally moved on. And that was a great burden off of both Vincent and Yuffie's shoulders.

"I saw the test results." Godo said gruffly. "Although I scorn you, Yuffie, for getting the operation without my permission…" He looked to his daughter, who nervously turned her eyes away, "I do give you permission to wed.

"Thank you, Godo." Vincent bowed his head, and Yuffie did as well.

"Father… Is fine." Godo coughed with a red blush on his face. Vincent smirked and nodded.

"Thank you… Father."

"Well, it's about time." Tifa put her hands on her hips, dressed in Chinese robes, the dress for the priestesses (and female friends) for the wedding. She looked like a goddess who had stepped out of the fountain.

"You got married first, so I thought 'Hey, what the hell!'" Yuffie laughed, trying to maneuver her way into her Chinese wedding dress. Tifa had married Cloud earlier that year, finally. Now, Tifa was pregnant with their first child.

"Hahaha…" Tifa laughed softly. She looked over to a chair where another Chinese dress lay. "Is that…?" Yuffie nodded sadly.

"…Yeah. If Aeris were here, that would be her dress. …I wanted to have a dress prepared so she would feel left out."

"Yuffie…" Tifa looked over softly to the bride.

"UGH!" Yuffie screamed and tossed off the Chinese wedding dress. "I can't take this stupid thing anymore! I already did the photos for my dad, so no more!" Yuffie opened up the closet and pulled out a wrapped package on a coat hanger.

"Huh? Yuffie, that's-"

"Hoho… I sold some of my trained material." She said with a tinge of regret and sadness in her voice. "But! I bought this!"

Vincent waited at the front of the wedding line, waiting for his bride to come.

"You sure about this? You can't go back once you do this." Cloud warned tuxedo-clad Vincent.

"Do you regret yours?" Vincent slightly glared at his friend.

"Not one bit." He smiled softly.

"I love Yuffie. Everything we've been through together, it's shown me the deepness behind her selfish exterior."

"Exterior, huh?" Cid chuckled. "I guess you do know the little girl. A LOT more than we do."

"Well, good luck." Red closed his eyes and sighed. He wore a little bow tie around his neck.

"Oh so, Red! Where's yo' wife and kids?" Barret looked in the crowd.

"In the back. They didn't want to be noticed. We do stick out, after all." He motioned his head towards a beautiful lion-like creature who had gorgeous red fur and opal eyes. Around her rustled their little children.

"Don't be wussin' out now, man! You'll be makin' one of those right after this." The perverted Cid laughed, and Vincent coughed and looked away.

"What about you n' Shera?" Barret elbowed his friend. "I heard she got one on the way."

"Hm…" Cloud looked dully at Cid.

"Ah, well, yeah…" He blushed and scratched his head. "Seems Shera really had it in her!"

"Literally." Red said sarcastically. Suddenly, the Chinese music began to play. Alone at the front was Yuffie, and behind her, her friends and hand maids. However, Yuffie was not dressed in the Chinese dress her father had prepared. Instead, she was in a long, strapless white dress that was opened at the back. Around her neck, she wore a white choker, and on her wrists she wore diamond bracelets that belonged to her mother. In her hair she wore a white lily, freshly picked.

"Yuffie?" Godo exclaimed quietly, trying not to interrupt the ceremony. But then he smiled, knowing that this was her wedding.

"You look beautiful…" Vincent whispered in his deep voice as they joined both right and left hands together. Forehead-to-forehead, they stood and heard each other's breaths go in and out.

"Well, you're spiffy." She giggled quietly. The wedding ceremony of Wutai was simple. Each took a drink of the holy water from the Water God, and then kissed each other on the lips, their life flowing through each other. They were now married.

The night moon shined on the window and onto the bed where the two of them slept, bare bodies against each other. Yuffie felt his black hair drip across her breast bone after they made love.

"Vincent…" She whispered to him. "I love you." He looked at her and leaned over to her, kissing her on her cheek and then on her ear, his breath flowing onto her skin.

"Yeah. Me too."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

When Yuffie got pregnant, everyone was joyous. As her pregnancy went along, Tifa and Cloud's daughter, Skye, and then Cid and Shera's son, Taylor, were born. However, Vincent and Yuffie's family noticed strange things during her pregnancy. Yuffie would have horrible nightmares, and thrash in her sleep. She would suddenly bleed from somewhere on her body where she had no cuts. Something was wrong, but no matter how many times the Shinra doctors checked her over, they found nothing.

"Yuffie, are you doing all right?" Vincent asked her as they walked near the lotus pond. She walked carefully on the bridge, making sure all of her steps would not make her fall.

"Yeah, I-" And then she fell over herself. Vincent quickly grabbed her and held her in his arms.

"I'm sorry… It's my fault… I'm a monster…" He gripped her shoulders tightly. She took her hands and stroked his back.

"It's not." She smiled. "And don't call yourself a monster. We've been over this."

"Yuffie…." He kissed her on her lips and he felt better. However, all this relief was erased when the day of their child's birth came. Everything…

"Jenovah entered your wife's womb from the lifestream."

"But how…?"

"Because you, the father, are Omega's host." Yuffie writhed in pain, kicking her legs and gripping on the pillow.

"It's my fault…!" He held his face in his hand.

"Now's not the time to be blaming anyone." The doctor said as Yuffie's pants and held-in screams filled the silence. "We need to make sure your wife is safe."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"She may be saved if we kill the baby." He coughed. "We have to protect this world from Jenovah at all costs."

"That's the reason, you-"

"Yes, that's the entire reason I came today. I have to kill this child-" Suddenly, the doctor felt the feel of cold titanium against his left temple.

"DO IT AND DIE." He glared furiously. "Even if Yuffie lives, if this baby dies, she won't be able to take it. Neither will I."

"Calm down, calm down." He said perfectly free from fear. "It already seems to be too late." The two looked down at the ground, where Yuffie screamed her lungs out.

"YUFFIE!" Vincent fell to the ground, holding her hand. The baby had come out.

"The child seems to be free from Jenovah's influence for now." He took the bloody heap of a child and brought it to rinse. "It seems to be a healthy baby girl." The child cried.

"…my baby…" Yuffie whispered and raised her hand.

"Yuffie…"

"Give me back my baby…!"

"I'm sorry, we have to kill her. It's Jenovah's legacy, and it needs to die."

"You don't dare…!" Vincent growled.

"I'll kill you…!" Yuffie dashed in a fury towards the man and bashed him against the wall. Except… The wall was now gone. Her power had smashed it away.

"Yuffie!" Vincent called to her in urgency.

"…Ow… You'll kill your own baby if you do that…" The doctor pulled out a gun. "I see you've been infected by Jenovah as well."

"RAAAAAAHHHHH!" She grabbed him by the neck, about to snap it.

"Yuffie, stop it!" He ran towards her.

"Vincent…!" The doctor choked. "Take the child!" He saw the child, who was in fact still by the sink. He passed it to one of the maids and ran after Yuffie, who was still intending to kill him.

"KAAAAA!" She snarled, held back in his arms.

"Yuffie, that's enough!" She looked at him with feral eyes and chomped down her sharp teeth on his neck.

"Gah…!" He yelled in pain and let go for a moment. She pushed away, but then held her head in pain.

"…Guh…! Vin… cent…!" She cried, blood dripping from her teeth.

"Yuffie? Yuffie, is that you? Wake up! You can't run around like this! You'll die, your body is…!" He saw the blood on the ground that had come from her pregnancy.

"…Quick…! Vincent…! SHOOT ME!" She screamed, and then went to attack him once again.

"Yuffie…!" His hand ached as it reached for the trigger. However, Yuffie fainted where she stood. "Yuffie!"

"It seems Jenovah's toxins wore off for now… As long as we apply the right medicines, she'll be fine."

"What kind of medicines?" Vincent asked in the Shinra hospital in _. He looked through the bright ER window, where Yuffie was connected to an oxygen machine. She breathed in and breathed out, just as a human should.

"We've developed a medicine to null Jenovah's toxins for a month's time. It'll be a monthly dose for Yuffie and her daughter."

"My daughter…?"

"Yes. As I mentioned earlier, your newborn daughter does have an immense amount of Jenovah's toxins inside of her. Much more than your wife. Yuffie should be able to live normally with the medicine, but I don't know about the little one…"

"She'll live. She's my daughter." He said confidently, yet with a grim tone.

"…All right." The doctor smiled. "We'll let the child live."

"Vincent…" Yuffie looked up happily. Now she had woken and was sitting up in her bed. She had been brought the child to be with.

"Yuffie… Are you feeling all right?"

"Of course! Who do you think I am!" Yuffie said this in a soft voice, as to not startle their child.

"Heh… Sorry." He said as quietly as she did.

"…Vincent?"

"Yeah?"

"If… If I ever go crazy like that again… Please… Shoot me."

"Wait, what?" Vincent yelled and jumped up, and the baby squirmed. He sat down again.

"I know… I know it will be hard, but I can't do any more damage to my people, to this world… To you." She gazed at the light stain of blood coming through the bandages on his neck. He covered it with his hand.

"The doctor said you'll be fine."

"But…"

"I won't kill you, Yuffie. You're my wife. We're supposed to spend eternity together." He interlaced his hand with his wife's. She smiled softly.

"Vincent… There might be a day where I endanger you again. I need you to. You don't have to even promise. Just hold it in your heart, OK?"

"…" Vincent felt so powerless, not being able to do anything for his wife, the one person who truly loved him with all their heart. Yuffie opened her mouth slightly and began to sing.

Erika no hana…

Erika no hana…

Hanabira ga maiochiru

Kono kaori

Wasurenai wa

Haru ga kuru toki

Watashi no suki na hito to

Maki ni arukimasu

Erika ni miru tame

(Erika flowers…

Erika flowers…

The petals are fluttering down

I won't forget

This fragrance

When spring comes

With my beloved,

I shall walk to the field

To see the Erika.)

"Yuffie, that song…?"

"My mom taught it to me when I was a kid."

"…Erika."

"What?"

"The Erika flower could be our daughter's name."

"Erika, huh… That's a pretty name."

"Then we're decided?"

"Yeah. From today till the end, your name is Erika. Erika Valentine."


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Erika, the doctor is here!" Yuffie yelled up the stairs. Her daughter, now 7 years old, came tapping down the stairs. Although she looked exactly like her mother with her short, fluffy, ashen brown hair and the innocent, yet mischievous face, she had the same color of eyes as her father before he was experimented on, a beautiful golden brown that seemed to sparkle. She wore an army green dress with dark brown capris underneath.

"Do I have to Mommy?" She peeked around the corner.

"At least you don't have to go to the hospital. And I'm getting the injections too." Yuffie, now older biologically (28 years old, to be exact) but the same on the outside due to the eternal water, had already stripped down to her black shorts and white tank top. She was already fully prepared for the examination that occurred every month, and the injections that were reapplied every 6.

"Yuffie, they're here." Vincent came out. He had really changed his sense of style. He wore a loose white dress shirt with black pants. His long, black hair was sometimes in a tight ribbon when he had to deal with company, but today he left it down.

"All right. Wish us luck." She kissed him softly on the lips, and he twirled at her short side-tail.

"Yeah. I love you. Be safe." He kissed her one more time. Erika always wondered why her parents seemed so nervous every checkup. Just as she thought this, her father, standing 6'3", kneeled down and picked up his daughter in his arms when she spread out her arms for him to hold her. "Good luck to you too, my girl." He said so adoringly, that Yuffie chuckled. She knew best that Vincent would never say that kind of gushy crap to a child (or anyone)… He was doing it especially for her.

"I love you, daddy." Erika hugged quietly against him.

"OK, lie down, Erika." Erika was first. She lay down on the couch.

"Don't worry, Erika, mommy's right here." Yuffie held her daughter's hand. All Vincent could do was wait outside.

"Now," Dr. Grahme sat down. "How do you feel?"

"Fine."

"No fevers lately?" He placed the health scanner on her arm to check for any abnormalities.

"No."

"And you've been going to school normally?"

"Yes."

"What grade are you in?"

"2nd."

"I see, that's nice." He smiled. "Now hold on tight, I have to do the shot, OK?"

"Mommy's right here." However, Erika was already used to this.

"I'm fine, Mommy." She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"I know, but if you DO need me, OK?"

"I'm FINE." She giggled, felt the little prick of the needle, and it was done.

"Ms. Yuffie." He turned to the mother. "Here's your injection. Ready?"

"Yup." She showed her arm, and with one prick, her examination was done. A beep came from the examination.

"Miss Erika, will you go out and tell your father to come in?" Erika jumped up to talk to her father and then went to her room to play. She wasn't allowed to listen in on their conversation.

In the living room, Yuffie leaned against Vincent's shoulder.

"You all right?" He asked quietly.

"I think I just have a little fever from the shot."

"As I feared." Doctor Grahme shook his head. "The vaccine is wearing off."

"Wearing off?" They asked, not knowing what he meant.

"Yes. You know how when you come up with an immunity for a disease, sometimes, the disease learns how to adapt? That's what Jenovah's cells are doing inside you and your daughter."

"No…!" Vincent looked at his wife, in pain with a red face, but still looking straight at the doctor.

"I'm afraid until we develop a new medicine, we can't fight this disease much longer. The Jenovah readings keep increasing every month. Two months ago it was 85% immunity, last month it dropped to 70%, and now…" He looked sadly at the reading. "I'm afraid the immunity is down to 45%."

"What happens when the immunity doesn't work anymore?" Vincent asked.

"…Possession, most likely. Erika will be completely under her control, as her vessel, and Yuffie will be a puppet for her because Jenovah was not born directly into her.

"Please, isn't there any kind of therapy-?"

"I understand your feelings, but as I said, there is nothing I can do. Not me, not the Shinra Company." He packed his bag up and slipped out some pills. "Give these to your wife and her fever should ease for a while."

"Why aren't you giving them to Erika?" He demanded. The doctor sighed.

"The only reason that Yuffie is getting a fever is because her body is fighting off the infection. Her infection is much lighter, after all." He looked them in the eyes. "Erika's infection is complete. There's no fighting off the infection anymore. That's why she is going to school normally."

"…How long do we have until the possession…?" Vincent gripped his wife's hand. Once Erika was possessed, Yuffie would be as well.

"I'd give it two weeks. If in one week there is no medical epiphany, we will come to quarantine your wife and daughter, where they will be…" The doctor trailed off, not wanting to finish. "Euthanized."

"You can't do that!" Vincent yelled at him. "They're everything to me! If you take them…!"

"Stop, Vincent!" Yuffie stood up to stop his upcoming violence. "…As bad as it is, at least you don't have to kill me yourself."

"Yuffie…" He gritted his teeth. The doctor left the house. Vincent grabbed on to his wife and held her close to his chest. "We're supposed to be together for eternity…!" He shook his head. "Weren't you going to save me from my loneliness…?"

"I know…!" She sobbed. "I don't want to die either…!"

"Hey, Erika?" Yuffie, her eyes dry and her fever subsided, came up the stairs to see her daughter. "Why don't we go out and get some shaved ice, huh?"

"Ooh, yeah!" She jumped up from playing with her Geisha figurines and ran over to her mom.

Outside in the Wutai summer heat, Vincent had tied up his hair in a red ribbon and wore flip flops, while Yuffie wore her blue top outfit that she wore during her Cerberus adventures. They sat down on a bench by the shave ice stand. Yuffie had a lime ice, Vincent had strawberry, and Erika had cotton candy.

"Mm!" Erika smiled as she munched on the blue goodness that melted in her mouth. "Thank you Mommy, Daddy!"

"Yeah, of course. Anything for you. Erika." Yuffie smiled brightly. Vincent ate his ice silently, not wanting to remember what was happening. He was going to lose everything. His wife, and his child that was made from him and her would die. It was a fact he could not avoid.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Ready or not, here I come!" Erika was out playing with her few friends in Wutai. The children that were raised by Wutai natives did not fear her, but the immigrants who came to the town did. Erika ran to find her friends. "I found you Mei Mei!" Erika found her best friend, Mei Mei, behind a bush.

"You found me!" She jumped up and hugged her. Erika laughed. "Now we have to find Lu Xun!"

"Right!" Erika smiled. Lu Xun was another boy from the village. He was named after the famous lover of the goddess, Da Qiao. "But we also need to find Cecily!" Cecily was a girl from outside of the village. She had moved to Wutai just recently.

"Boo!" A voice yelled.

"Kya!" The two girls screamed, and Lu Xun laughed his head off.

"I got you, Erika!" He tackled her.

"Lu Xun! That's not the point of the game!" Erika said this, trying to be angry, but she laughed too. Cecily sneaked out behind him.

"Hi!" She perked up.

"You weren't supposed to come out."

"But I didn't want to wait for you, Erika!" As they stood around the forest, making a hustle and a bustle, two boys from outside the village approached them.

"Ooh, it's monster girl!" The two of them stuck out their tongues.

"Shut it!" Erika put her arm in front of her friends.

"She doesn't even know she's a monster, does she?" One cackled.

"What are you talking about?" Erika had never been told about her possession.

"Listen, Cecily! That girl's Jenovah's vessel!-"

"Shut up!" Lu Xun punched one of them in the face. Mei Mei tried to push away Erika from the scene.

"What… Did you just say…?" Erika tried to grasp what they had spoken.

"Stop it Erika, don't listen to them."

Swio "You knew?" Erika looked at her best friend.

"Erika…"

"Did you know?" She finally demanded. Mei Mei looked away.

"YOU BROUGHT THE METEOR TWELVE YEARS AGO!" The other boy yelled.

"Shut up, SHUT UP!" Erika screamed, and the earth around her shook. Parts of it started to come out.

"Ow!" One of the boys yelled in pain as a chunk of rock hit him in the face. His nose started to bleed.

"Roy!" Cecily ran towards the boy. Tears dripped from her eyes. "What the heck are you doing, you freak?" She lashed out, and Erika gasped. The three outsiders ran off back to their houses, and Erika dashed back to her's.

"Erika!" Her two best friends called after her. Erika slammed the door as she came in.

"Erika?" Vincent swifted over to her and wiped off her hair that was covered in dirt. "What happened?"

"Where's mommy?"

"She went to Midgar… To work on something." In fact, she was trying to find other preparations to try and save her and her daughter.

"…Daddy…" She looked up at them. "Am I Jenovah's legacy?" Their eyes widened. Yuffie stumbled back and put her hands on her mouth. Vincent caught her as she started to fall.

"Erika, where did you hear about that?" Vincent asked sternly.

"So it is true." She confirmed. Vincent averted his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"If we told you, what would you do? You would have never thought of yourself as a normal girl." Vincent rebuttled quietly.

"And now I'm not normal! I just made the earth shake with my power and hurt someone, and Cecily hates me…!" Erika cried. "Why did this happen to me…?"

"…Come with me, Erika." Vincent walked out towards their wide yard that went farther than the eye could see. "This is the real me." Vincent transformed into the behemoth of omega. Erika fell to the ground.

"You see, Erika… 12 years ago, we fought with your aunts and uncles to save the planet from the meteor that was to fall. We succeeded… With the help of your father, who had been experimented on… And placed inside him was Omega. Jenovah maneuvers her way through the lifestream. She wanted to get revenge on us, so she came into your mother through her womb. She decided that you would be her successor… And soon… You will die."

"What?"

"You could become a danger to the world in about two weeks, so they're taking you to Shinra to stop us-"

"I'm dying?" She demanded. "This isn't fair…!" Erika angrily cried. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO HAVE ME? Dad's a monster, and mom acts on impulse…! I just wish I were dead!" Vincent looked away painfully. "I…" Erika fainted all of a sudden, her shoulder falling to the ground.

"Erika!" Vincent screamed for her.

"The doctor… Says that she won't wake up. She's got a lot of brain damage for some reason, and she's so in a coma that it would take a miracle for her to wake up…" Yuffie sat on a crate in the hospital. "Why didn't you do anything Vincent? You right there with her!"

"…I apologize." He looked very grim.

"…Sorry. I… Have no right to say that." Yuffie walked over to her husband and hugged him tight. "I know you did your best… I'm… sorry I wasn't there.

"Erika…" A voice called. "Come here."

"Who… Are you…?" Erika disconnected her IV and wrapped a bandage around it. She walked right out the hospital and off to somewhere unknown.

"Erika's gone missing!" Yuffie ran into Vincent. "I don't know where she went, but she's not in the hospital…!"

"It must be Jenovah…"

"But what about Wutai? She could have gone home!"

"I'll check there." He assured her.

"Then I'll go to the forgotten city." Yuffie nodded. Let's meet at the Forgotten City in an hour."

"Right."

"Who are you…?" Erika yelled out in the dark forest in front of the lake. "What do you want from me?"

"I'm you!" The voice cried. "I just want to help you. I'm here to grant your greatest desire."

"Oh… So this is a dream…" Erika sighed. "A wish, huh…?" She clasped her hands together. "I wish… That I didn't exist. That way, mommy and daddy wouldn't have to suffer. And they'll forgive me." Erika really did want to be forgiven for the horrible things she said about her mother and father. The voice giggled.

"Understood." Erika felt a shiver down her spine as the voice changed to one that was deep. "I'll make you disappear."

"AAAAAAHHHH!" Erika felt a shock of electricity.

'No…' She whispered in the darkness, 'This isn't what I wanted…!'

"Erika! What are you doing here?" Yuffie dashed to where her daughter looked at the lake.

"…Mom… I'm not your real child, am I?"

"What are you saying? Of course you are! You're Erika Valentine! You're the daughter of Yuffie Kisaragi and Vincent Valentine, leaders of Wutai!"

"But… I have different blood in me, don't I?" Erika didn't look at her mother.

"Erika… What's wrong? You don't sound all right." Yuffie put her hands on her daughter's shoulders, trying to look in the girl's eyes that were looking down at the ground.

"You have the blood too, mom… The blood of our goddess."

"Wha…?"

"When you gave birth to me, we both got it. It was a present from the life stream… Jenovah-sama gave us her legacy."

"Erika…! Wake up! Open your eyes! Don't you dare lose to her!"


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Yuffie!" Vincent called for his wife, who stood near the lake with her back turned to him. "Where's Erika?"

"My lady has been revived…"

"What?" Vincent held his ground. Something was wrong… VERY WRONG. She turned around, her head tilted onto her left shoulder. A green flow emanated through her eyes as she laughed hysterically.

"Mother has been reborn into Erika! Oh, what a glorious day!" Yuffie cackled.

"Yuffie, you-!"

"Yuffie?" She asked, clueless. "Ahhh, that short-haired energetic chick. I took over her body. Her consciousness isn't here anymore. She's taking a little nap." The poltergeist waved her hand.

"How dare you!" Vincent took out his gun, but the hesitated. It was Yuffie's body. If he killed the body, then-

"Yup, that's right Vinny!" The possessed Yuffie pointed her finger at him. "If you kill me, you kill your beloved wife!"

"Kh…!"

"Haaah!" The fake Yuffie didn't take anymore time. She ran up to Vincent, stabbing him with a dagger in his shoulder.

"Gah…!" He cried out, still trying to grab Yuffie and hold her down. However, she resisted greatly, and stabbed him once again. This time, in his chest. "GUAAAH!" He screamed in pain. The monster hopped back and slumped over. She pulled out her foldable pinwheel weapon and held it up.

"This is the end! It was fun while it lasted, Valentine!" She cackled. When she should have thrown the star, however, she stopped her hand. It was as if the bones and muscles in her arm had completely frozen.

"Vincent…! Do it…!" She cried with a hoarse voice. He stepped back, knowing what was happening. She knew that she was out of control.

"Yuffie! No!"

"JUST DO IT!" Yuffie screamed for his help. She was in so much pain, not just by being controlled, but also from seeing herself hurt her husband. He placed his hand to the trigger. He fulfilled his promise. He saved Yuffie from herself. The silver bullet from Vincent's pistol dashed across the big space between them, bursting into Yuffie's chest. With soft, weak eyes, Yuffie smiled and raised her arms like a T. She closed her eyes and let her feet leave the ground. She fell into the deep, dark, Ancient pool. She sank, and sank… And through the muffling of the water, she heard one last thing. It was his voice. But then it faded out. And she heard, saw and felt nothing.

It was completely silent inside that dimension of pure white. Yuffie awoke as she felt the blades of grass and flowers tickle her cheek.

"Where…?" She stopped herself and stood up when she saw a familiar figure. The woman wearing a pink dress and a red ¾ sweater looked at her softly.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." She smiled.

"Aeris…" Yuffie stuttered and pulled herself up. "Wait, am I…?"

"No. Not yet." She shook her head. Yuffie walked over to Aeris and bit her lip.

"You jerk…!" Yuffie croaked. "You took it all on yourself, and you went off and died…!" Aeris knew what Yuffie was talking about. When Aeris went with the white material to the fountain of the Ancients, she was killed by Sephiroth.

"I know I have caused many people pain…" She placed her hand to her chest. "But from here, I can give many people happiness. And now… I'm happy." She said quietly, and a tear dripped from her eye. "Ever since Zack left, I thought he broke up with me. I never heard from him. But then… As I was going into the Lifestream… I heard him call my name." She tried wiping her eyes. "I finally got to go back to him… My first… My true love." She sobbed in her hands. It was such a happy occurrence, even though she had passed away. And yet, she felt regret in her heart.

"Aeris…" Yuffie said, understanding her feelings.

"But Yuffie." Aeris wiped her eyes dry with the back of her hands and cleared her nose. "It's not your time yet. You still have things to do, places to go, people to be with." She hugged her friend and smiled softly like a mother. "It's OK. You can do it." In the warmth of her kindness, Yuffie closed her eyes and tried to listen for that voice. For his voice.


End file.
